Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
The escalation in fighting in Syria has displaced about 370,000 people in just over a week, the UN said on Friday. Among them, at least 100,000 have been forced to flee the violence several times.
“Most of the displaced are women and children,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a briefing in New York. Tens of thousands have sought refuge in north-east Syria, he added.
The world body estimates between 60,000 and 80,000 people have been newly displaced. More than 25,000 are staying in shelters, which are reaching or exceeding capacity.
“These shelters are filling up as soon as they get are assigned with sites now at capacity, people are sleeping on the streets and in their cars in sub-zero temperature as winter has set on,” said Mr Dujarric.
The fresh mass displacement comes after rebels led by Islamist extremist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham launched their lightning offensive last week. That occurred just as a tenuous ceasefire in neighbouring Lebanon took hold between Israel and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's ally, Hezbollah, following two months of full-blown war that drove hundreds of thousands to flee into Syria.
Samer Abdel Jaber, the World Food Programme's Director for Emergency Co-ordination, told reporters in Geneva that up to 1.5 million people could be forced to flee a surge in fighting in Syria.
“If the situation continues evolving [at the same] pace, we're expecting collectively around 1.5 million people that will be displaced and will be requiring our support,” he added.
Earlier this month, the UN humanitarian office said it had had to cut food rations in Syria by up to 80 per cent due to insufficient funds.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
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Based in: Dubai
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Size: 5 employees
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Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
